Curiosity Killed the Cat
by black-lightning82
Summary: Botan discovers that fate controls more than just when and how you die. She sets out to find Hiei and Kurama's soul mates. However, things never go as planned and with the Makai Tournament going tri-annual, Botan's curiosity may get them into trouble.
1. Chapter 1

Hello peoplz! I decided to start up a new story to neglect. Do not expect me to update, I probably won't. However, I may add a few more chapters if there's enough interest. I've only finished 2 of my stories (and they were sucky, rushed endings) and deleted several that never got off of the ground but I'll do my best! P.S. Sorry this chapter is so short. The next ones should be _at least_ 2,000 words.

Disclaimer: Why do we even do these? I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho. It doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.

* * *

**Curiousity Killed the Cat**

**_Chapter 1: Fate's Book of Soul Mates_**

"Botan!" The blue-haired ferry girl sighed. Her boss, Koenma, had been extremely bored for about 4 days now and had been growing more and more irritated and impatient as time went on. "Botan, get me a glass of milk!"

Sighing, Botan strode across the room and shouted to one of the ogres, repeating the order. She watched as poor George weaved through the torrent of paper-pushers, upsetting several of them in the process and earning a round of dirty looks. When she was sure that he'd made it safely across the chamber she closed the door quietly. At this point, any noise could upset Koenma.

Koenma was shuffling through the remaining papers on his desk in a futile attempt to find something to do. She approached the fuming teenager delicately. "Koenma-sama?" He gave a grunt to show that he was listening. "You're supposed to be on vacation. Maybe you should go and sit in the hot springs or something." He looked up and she retreated half a step. "It might help you... you know... relax...?"

The prince of Spirit World must have seen her fear because he suddenly gave a sigh and rubbed his brow in a way that reminded her that he was, despite his appearance, very old. "You're right Botan. I should at least try to relax." The blunette blinked in surprise. "Maybe I will go to the hot springs. Hold down the fort, will you?"

Botan gave a brief nod and Koenma stood, padding slowly across the plush red carpet of his office. He opened the door and strode mindlessly through the crowd of ogres, who parted for him with a quick bow of respect. When he had disappeared through the heavy wooden doors at the other end of the chamber even the ogres had to give a sigh of relief before returning to work.

Suddenly alone in the ruler's office, Botan felt the instant urge to leave. It was just so quiet. There wasn't even the pounding of Koenma's stamp to fill the silence. But Koenma had said to hold down the fort. She had to stay incase a message were to come for him.

With another sigh, Botan settled into Koenma's extremely comfortable chair and turned on some music via the large TV screen behind her. Classical. Koenma's favorite. She shrugged. It would do. She then began the task of rummaging through the prince's desk to find something to entertain herself. No wonder Koenma had failed. There was hardly anything in it. Keonma's 2-week, temporary replacements must have cleaned everything out of it. Still, there must be something....

In the drawer on the left, clear in the back, there was a small, dusty book. She pulled it out and brushed it off gently. The cover was a picture of 2 small blue orbs. Souls. She found the title on the side of the book and read it aloud, gasping. "Fate's Book of Soul Mates...."

Immediately, Botan cleared a space on the desk and bent over the pages, intently scanning them for her name. Unfortunately, she would never find it. The first line of page 154 read: md41975896 - fd97785047. Numbers assigned to identify each soul.... Necessary, since people were reincarnated all the time, but the biggest pain in the butt....

Suddenly the light bulb went on in her head and she spun around in the chair to face the TV screen, remote in hand. She navigated the files saved there until she found what she was looking for: a list of soul numbers and their current bodies. She went to the names of female spirits and found her own name and, consequently, her soul number: Botan (no body) - fh89635235.

Immediately, she took off. Unfortunately, the women's numbers were not listed in order so it took an hour and 3 minutes to finally find it. She stared at the page for a minute. mh86563572 - fh89635235. Even his number was beautiful....

It only took a moment for her to realize that she was wasting her time looking at his number when she hadn't seen him yet! She scanned a list of soul numbers and finally found it. mh86563572 - no body.

"DAMMIT!" the ferry girl screamed, slamming her fists onto the arms of Koenma's chair, ignoring their groan of protest.

Just then, George walked in looking slightly sweaty and very proud of himself. He must have just succeeded in crossing the lobby without spilling it. It took skill. Unfortunately, it was a skill that Botan had never mastered. That's why she always made George do it. Under normal circumstances she would regret having to tell him that he had to go all the way back through there to find Koenma on the other side of the castle.

However, these were not normal circumstances. She couldn't be with her soulmate for at least 20 more years! "HE ISN'T HERE! HE'S AT THE HOT SPRINGS! NOW GET OUT!"

George suddenly deflated. He stepped out of the office onto the hard tile in the lobby and dumped the glass of milk on his head before sulking off. Another ogre could be seen mopping the spilled milk up before the door swung quietly shut, effectively blocking out George's loud sobbing.

As Botan returned her attention to the book she felt all of the anger disappear and it was replaced by a strong feeling of loneliness. Nobody she met would ever be right for her....

She felt a stinging behind her eyes and immediately shook her head, looking for something else to focus on. She flipped through the list of numbers, finding Yusuke's out of pure luck. Curious, Botan found his number in the book. It was much easier this time since all of the numbers were in order. She found the corresponding number and looked it up.

_Keiko_

Well, at least someone had found their soul mate....

Lazily, she looked up Kuwabara's as well. Yukina. Botan smiled softly to herself. No matter what the others said about him, Kuwabara definitely deserved her. And it was always rather cute the way he flirted with her.

Suddenly, a bout of curiosity sparked in her.

What about Kurama? She couldn't imagine anyone they knew being a match for the fox. This time, when she located the soul mate, the name was unfamiliar. _Akari Yamamoto. _Botan looked in Koenma's files for a profile but those files were mainly concerned with demon criminals. Akari was human.

Botan whipped out a piece of paper and wrote down the name, determined to find Kurama's soul mate if it was the last thing she did. She still existed and dammit, they would be happy together!

That left one more person.

_Hiei_

Forget the people they knew, she couldn't imagine that anyone would be right for Hiei. Or rather that Hiei would be right for anyone else. But she had to look. She was surprised to discover how old Hiei's soul was. He was soul: md749. She couldn't imagine what his soul must have gone through to leave them with the cold fire demon.

As she was looking for Hiei, Botan discovered another set of numbers, circled in red and surrounded by hearts. The second number was crossed out and another number was scrawled out above it in Koenma-sama's handwriting. The blunette momentarily abandoned her aforementioned effort and scrawled through Koenma's files to discover that the first number belonged to the prince himself. The second number called for a female human soul that had not yet been completed. They were actually _making _Koenma-sama's soul mate. But Botan didn't stop there, she also sought out the number Koenma had written in. His crush. It was Sayaka, the spirit who had stayed with Yusuke's ghost after he had died.

"Aww...." Botan gave a sigh. It was so cute to see how human the prince of Spirit World could be.

But back to Hiei. Botan continued to smile at this new piece of gossip as she flipped through the pages of the book. She found Hiei's number and the number of his soul mate and looked her up. _Ryu.... _She was a demon. No last name was listed. When Botan looked into Koenma's files she found a short profile. The demoness had been accused of 12 counts of breaking and entering and 43 counts of trespassing, though she'd never been convicted. A picture accompanied this but it was dark and blurry and no features could be determined.

Botan gave a final smile as she wrote down the name. She would find them... no matter what!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, I'm back! I'm on a roll so I figured I'd better run with it. Chapter 2!

* * *

**Curiosity Killed the Cat**

**_Chapter 2: Little Miracles_**

Despite being continuously jostled, Botan couldn't help but smile as she weaved her way through the crowded Tokyo streets. Yesterday she had managed to slip "Fates Book of Soul Mates" back into Koenma's desk and erase all history of her searches through his files before the prince of Spirit World returned from his relaxing bath in the hot springs. He'd been upset to find her in his chair but she escaped unharmed with the names of Kurama and Hiei's soul mates tucked safely in her pocket.

She paused momentarily outside of the library, causing someone to run into her from behind. The man threw her a quick apology before scurrying off but she ignored him, proceeding up the front steps.

Botan had only managed to make it back to Human World by convincing Koenma to go visit Keiko and Yusuke at the hospital. She was due any day now. That was one reason why Yusuke wouldn't be participating in the Makai Tournament next week. He'd be raising a family soon--probably not the best time to be the king of Demon World....

Silently, Botan made her way to the other end of the library where 8 computers were pushed up against the wall. 2 were in use. The remaining 6 showed fish swimming across the monitors--screen savers. She plopped down in the spinning chair and jiggled the mouse of the computer on the end. She planned on finding Kurama's human soul mate on line. she'd have to ask around at the tournament to find Hiei's.

Bringing up the internet, Botan typed Akari's name in to the nearest search engine. The first 3 results were facebook pages. Botan clicked on it, noticing that the woman was 63. She made a face, hoping that this wasn't it. Reluctantly, she scanned the profile.

This woman was _insane!_ Her status threatened the entire country of Japan because leaves from her neighbor's trees were clogging her gutters, her wall sported reviews for various internet dating websites, and she had a group honoring each of her 28 deceased cats.

"That can't be her," Botan told herself firmly, pressing the back button. The second profile belonged to a 12-year-old boy. She enjoyed a moment of visualizing Kurama as a pedofile before moving on.

The last profile seemed significantly more likely. This Akari was a 19-year-old girl who actually lived in Tokyo. Her profile picture showed her as having black hair and bright blue eyes. She was really very pretty. She was part of several Tae-Quan-Do groups; had 4,572 friends; and was single. Botan tried to read the girl's wall but gave up after a hundred or so comments. Akari must be very charismatic.... This definitely looked more like Kurama's type.

The ferry-girl's train of thought was interrupted by the ring of her communicator. The librarian at the island desk in the middle of the room hissed at her be quiet. "Sorry!" she whispered, answering it. Kuwabara's agitated face appeared immediately.

"Botan-chan, IT'S COMING!"

* * *

Koenma snatched his communicator from Kuwabara after Botan had hung up, effectively preventing him from crushing it in his nervousness. Keiko was screaming in the other room and they could hear the soft coos of the doctors trying to help her. Through the crack in the door, the prince could see Yusuke holding his wife's hand. He looked pale and shaky.

"How's she doing?" Shizuru asked quietly. She'd had to leave a minute for a smoke. Yukina, Kurama, and even Genkai were there as well.

"Still in labor."

Suddenly, Botan appeared at the end of the hall, nearly knocking over a poor kid carrying a stack of towels higher than the top of his head. She sprinted toward the group and skidded to a stop right next to the door, panting. She sighed in relief. "I'm not too late!"

"Yusuke looks terrified," Shizuru said with a smirk, straining to see over Botan's head. "It's like _he's_ the one having the baby...." Kurama chuckled softly and had to resist looking for himself.

Then there were several short gasps from in the room and a high-pitched cry. It was here! The group of 7 gathered around the door immediately, trying to look in. Shizuru hushed them all curtly and they listened for the nurse's voice.

"It's a boy."

There was more crying and they watched as the woman wiped him off with a towel. She then set him down on a short examination table and gave the child a cursory appraisal. They heard her mumble to herself as she went through her checklist. Keiko looked exhausted but found the energy to squeeze Yusuke's hand. He looked about ready to faint. Everything he'd been through and this very well might be the thing to kill him.

"Airways look good... heartbeat's slow, but steady (they all exchanged looks)... no visible deformities..." the nurse continued down her list and, after a moment wrapped him tightly in a blanket and picked him back up. She strode briskly over to Keiko, whose arms were outstretched, and gently set him on the brunette's lap. "He appears to be healthy."

One of the nurses, previously in the corner furiously filling out the paperwork, approached the trio. "What do you want to name him?"

Yusuke blinked and tore his gaze away from his newborn son for a moment to answer. "A-," he paused to swallow and tried again. "Akio. Akio Urameshi." She tried asking the couple how they wanted to spell it but they were too occupied with their son to care.

"Akio, huh?" Kuwabara grunted.

Kurama gave him a look. "You didn't know? I'd have figured he would've told you at least."

"Well, yeah. They talked about names and stuff, but they didn't want to know whether it was a boy or girl until it actually came. I know they'd decided on Kimiko as a girl's name but last I knew they were still considering Daichi as a boy's name."

Botan suddenly whipped out a baby name book. "...Akio: meaning 'bright man'." She pouted slightly. "Not much of a meaning, but it's still a cute name! Can we go see him?"

Kurama chuckled. "Not yet, Botan-chan. Be patient."

"We need to go, Botan," Koenma announced, glancing at his watch. "We still have some preparations to make for the Tournament. We only have 3 days left."

"What!"

"We're all coming back tomorrow. You could come see him with us," Yukina suggested quietly.

"What time?"

"Botan--."

"KOENMA-SAMA, WE'RE COMING BACK TOMORROW TO SEE THE BABY!"

"1:30, Botan-chan."

"We'll _both_ be there!" she promised. "See you guys then!" The group sent the ferry girl and her boss off with polite goodbyes and peeked in to watch as the nurse took the baby from a pissed-off looking Keiko. They could tell she didn't want to give him up. They took him to an adjourning room and transferred her to a cot so that she could be taken back to her own room. She was sweaty and looked about ready to pass out. Yusuke gave them a grateful nod as the nurse guided her cot through the hall but didn't leave her side. He looked like he might need the cot next.

After the doctors had gotten Keiko hooked up to all of the monitors, the group of 5 entered her room. Atsuko and Keiko's parents were still in there, insisting that there would be nothing to see. The nurse gave them a run-down as Kurama pulled a chair up to the bed for Yusuke.

"Thanks, man." Kurama and Kuwabara sat in some of the chairs across the bed from Yusuke, Yukina perched delicately on the windowsill, Shizuru leaned against the thresh hold, and Genkai stood beside Kurama. Yusuke heaved a heavy sigh and wiped his brow. Keiko had fallen asleep. "A boy..." he said quietly. "I have a son...." He seemed to be in shock. The group watched as he gently placed his hand on Keiko's.

There was a moment of silence before Kuwabara tried to start a conversation. "You should've seen Botan-chan, Urameshi. I thought she was gonna barge in there and steal him from Keiko-chan."

Yusuke smiled tiredly. "I bet she would have too. Where is she anyways?"

"Koenma-sama had a few more things to take care of for next week. They will return tomorrow to see the baby with the rest of us," Kurama answered.

"When?"

"About 1:30, if that's okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Yusuke looked at Keiko affectionately before returning his attention to the group before him. "And guys? Thanks for coming...."

* * *

**_1:30 Tomorrow_**

Once again, a large group was gathered at the glass by the nursery. It was Keiko's parents; Atsuko; Botan; Koenma; Shizuru; Kuwabara; Yukina; Genkai; Kurama; and, of course, Yusuke and Keiko (who was leaning heavily on her husband). The couple hadn't gotten much sleep that night. The nurses kept waking them up to feed every 2 hours.

The females of the group (aside from Keiko) gasped when the nurse brought Akio up to the glass. He was so small and had a little tuft of black hair on the top of his head. Big, chocolate brown eyes opened sleepily and blinked at them curiously.

"Aww...." Botan pressed her nose against the glass.

Behind her, Kurama leaned over to whisper something into Yusuke's ear. "Guess who else is here?"

Yusuke Squinted his eyes in concentration and extended his reiki. On the roof of the hospital there was a familiar energy. "Hiei?" He turned around to face Kurama who cleared his throat and subtly touched his forehead. Of course, the Jagan.

The girls had formed a little group off to his right and were talking with Keiko.

"They said it's a little early, but they're going to let us take him home tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?"

"Really?"

Shizuru gave the brunette a skeptical look. "Then why the glass?" She wrapped her knuckles on it for emphasis.

"They want to make sure he's alright before they release him."

"Don't they want to see if he's strong enough deal with everything first?"

"I don't know..."

"You should come visit us tomorrow," Yukina suggested. "Genkai-sama and I could baby sit Akio so that you and Yusuke could get some sleep."

"That sounds nice Yukina. I could use some sleep." Yukina beamed.

"Can we come see him too?" Kuwabara interrupted, leaning over into their huddle.

"Of course!" Shizuru brought a fist down on the top of her brother's head, chiding him for being intrusive. They all gave a chuckle and watched as the nurse placed little Akio back in his box.

Kurama placed a hand on Yusuke's shoulder, expression serious. "Yusuke, could I talk to you a moment?" The ex-spirit detective gave an uncertain nod and told Keiko he'd be right back. They slipped around the corner and noted that Hiei had left. "Yusuke, I don't want to alarm you but.... Do you remember Suzaku?" He watched as Yusuke's expression slid into a look of rage. He remembered.

"That's the bastard who sent his zombie army after... Keiko...." As realization dawned on him, there was a flash of horror in his eyes. "... You think...?" Kurama nodded and Yusuke looked away. Kurama had definitely alarmed him. "Someone may try to get to me through Akio, just like Suzaku used Keiko."

* * *

Botan exited the hospital with Koenma in tow. They weaved their way through the crowd to the bus stop at the park down the street. Botan slid onto the bench with a grin still firmly fixed on her face. "Akio-chan is so cute!"

"I suppose so..."

Botan looked horrified. "What do you mean 'I suppose so'? He's adorable!"

"I was joking Botan."

"Oh." Bored and slightly embarrassed, she stood up and glanced around the park. It was almost empty, which was unusual. Almost. Botan stiffened. In the middle of said park, perched on the edge of the enormous fountain, was none other than

_Akari..._

Suddenly, Akari stood up and smiled at someone to her right.

"Ryuko-chan! There you are!" _Ryuko?! _Botan's jaw dropped and she stared openly as another girl walked across the street. She was an extremely short brunette with green eyes. As she approached, she began to... sign?! She couldn't talk?! Akari smiled. "Come on, we'll be late for the movie!" More signing. Akari laughed. "Yes, I'll pay."

"Botan?" The ferry girl felt a hand on her shoulder and whipped around to find Koenma giving her a worried look. "Are you ready?"

The bus had arrived.

"Uh... yeah...." She followed her boss onto the bus, looking back when she'd reached the top of the stairs. They were gone....


	3. Chapter 3

Hey there! I'm back! I love you guys for reading my story. My reviewers are so nice to me. Don't be afraid to get mean though. Go ahead and yell at me if you really want an update. Sometimes that's what it takes to get things through my thick skull. But you came for the story.... Enjoy!

* * *

**_Chapter 3: The Makai Tournament Begins_**

Yusuke blinked, shielding his eyes from the bright spotlights that flooded the tournament registration area. He'd just arrived through the portal, exhausted as hell.

"Yusuke!" Said ex-spirit detective turned at the sound of the familiar voice to see Botan shoving her way unceremoniously though the crowd, Koenma and Kurama in tow. "How are you? How's Akio-chan?" She finally reached him and grinned up at him before noticing the heavy bags under his eyes. "Oh my God, you look terrible!"

"Thanks." He nodded a greeting to Kurama and his former boss. "Keiko and I haven't gotten much sleep lately. Akio is rather impatient. He's with Kuwabara and Shizuru right now."

"You should be resting," Kurama told him firmly. "You didn't have to come. It's just the preliminaries after all."

"The fox is right, this part of the tournament is boring."

Yusuke gave an exaggerated jump and whipped around to find Hiei. "You can't do that to me Hiei. I'm too tired for games." The fire apparition gave him a once-over and grunted, going to stand beside Kurama. "Anyway, are you guys going to fight early on?"

"Not until the semi-finals."

"Assuming we get that far," Kurama corrected. They gave him a look and he held his hands up in defense. "You can't underestimate your opponent. You guys know that."

"You're ruining my high, fox," Hiei growled. With a bit of focus, Yusuke could feel his short friend's youki fluctuating as adrenaline began to work its way into his system.

"Keep saying that and someone's going to think you're on drugs, Hiei," Kurama chuckled.

Yusuke grimaced slightly. "PCP, maybe."

Hiei rose an eyebrow. "What is PCP?"

Yusuke opened his mouth to define the drug with startling accuracy and offer a few personal experiences, but, luckily, he was interrupted by another familiar voice booming over the loudspeakers propped up every 30 meters or so in the area. _"Attention fighters, please proceed to your respective gates. We are about to begin the preliminary rounds. I repeat, fighters please proceed to your gates, we're about to begin the preliminary rounds."_

Yusuke turned to Kurama, eyebrow raised. "Koto?"

"None other. We must be going now. Come on Hiei, I think both of our gates are this way." Kurama began to politely weave his way through the crowd.

Hiei growled. "I know where my gate is, fox."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ we're supposed to be here?" Akari glanced nervously around. She currently stood on a giant flying eyeball-like thing that served as a camera, providing continuous live feeds of the fights to viewers located a safe kilometer or 2 away. "The girls are giving us funny looks." Indeed, the other camera women perched on their own crafts did not seem too sure about them being there.

Ryu gave a mental sigh and breached the first of her companion's mental shields to communicate... well, mentally. _Relax, Akari. I got permission to be here. The guy said it was our own necks. He probably didn't tell them because he didn't think we'd actually come. _Ryu was straddling the steering column, legs dangling down on either side of the camera. She was only half paying attention to the conversation, intent on the short fire apparition who was currently slicing and dicing below.

"Ryu..." Akari gave the demon a scolding tone.

_You wanted to see this guy fight, didn't you? _She pointed to the fighter below. _You thought he was cute._

Akari blushed. "My thoughts are hardly any of your business! And I was mad because you're lying to me."

Ryu reluctantly tore her eyes from the fight to look up at the human girl. _So I'm lying, who cares? We're here already. Might as well enjoy it. Get a shot of that scuffle over there, s_he indicated a group of about 5 significantly weaker demons to the east. Akari obediently turned the camera in that direction and spurred it forward. They followed it for a moment but Akari quickly retreated when one of the demons grabbed another by the throat and ripped a chunk of flesh off. Brown blood spurted from the severed arteries. Unfortunately, her efforts were too late.

Ryu unconsciously rubbed the side of her own throat. She'd been in a similar dispute involving a demon with impressive claws. Said demon had gotten aforementioned claws deep into Ryu's neck in a final, suicidal lunge. She'd managed to stop the bleeding and heal the jugular before passing out, but the damage had been done to her vocal chords. They'd already started to heal on their own and were thus beyond the expertise of any of the demons she'd met since.

Realizing what she was doing, Ryu dropped her hand. _This guy's done._ She indicated the demon below, calmly cleaning his katana. His movements had been so quick, however, there was very little blood on it anyway. They gave him a victory shot before floating over to a nearby plateau where a red-head with a rose was taking care of a large opponent with a blue mohawk and a bottle in hand.

_Duck._

Ryu snatched the handles from Akari's hands and yanked downwards as a ball of energy was headed in their direction. It was bigger than either of them had thought and Akari had to deflect it with a well-placed, reiki-powered punch. She winced and inspected the burns on her knuckles. _You okay?_

"Fine." She placed her hand back on the steering bar and ignored it. Ryu knew she was in pain but didn't push it. Akari was a big girl. She could take care of herself. "Looks like this one's almost over, too. There's a guy with a tornado over there. Shall we?"

* * *

Yusuke watched the fight between Jin and Touya intently. It must suck for them to be paired up so early in the game. Hiei and Kurama were finished already (as expected).

"You know," Yusuke and Koenma turned their eyes from the screen for a moment to see the blue-haired ferry girl watching the match with the same intensity. "I expected Jin to win but Touya must have gotten stronger when I wasn't looking."

As much as he hated to admit that his friendly former rival was getting whupped, she was right. Touya had Jin backed into a corner. He was standing in the middle of a frozen lake, looking completely unaffected by the hurricane-force winds while throwing a hail of icy needles up at the exhausted Jin. They were thrown with so much force and were traveling so fast that Jin was unable to deflect 3 of them. The first was off target but one hit him in the right shoulder and the other in the stomach.

The red-head plummeted to the ground and a little magic from Touya had him landing in a good 12 feet of powdery snow. Last of the fights finished, medical people rushed to the scene and began to heal him up. It was cool to see Touya pull him out of the snow bank when they were done and carry him to warmer ground.

"This makes me want to get in there." Yusuke pushed his sleeves up and puffed out his chest.

"Get in where, Yusuke?" Koenma... always the level head. "All of the fights are over. You're exhausted anyway."

"Shut up pacifier breath! I can't believe this I came to see some excitement and it's over in 15 minutes!"

"Yusuke!" He turned in surprise to see King Enki hunkered down in a special throne-like chair with his own set of TVs hooked up on the other side of the crowd. "Come! Sit! Talk with me!" Obediently, Yusuke weaved his way through the crowd, leaving Koenma and Botan behind. A chair was immediately brought to him and he bowed to the king of Makai before sitting. He noticed that his chair was much less impressive.

"Enki, how are you, man? I haven't seen you in years!"

Enki laughed his loud, booming laugh. "You haven't changed in the slightest! I heard you have a son now! How old is he? 2 days?"

"3. His name's Akio," Yusuke smiled proudly. "You should see him."

Enki chuckled. "Perhaps, when he's older. I don't plan on losing my throne, and I can't leave my people. When he's strong enough, maybe he can come visit me. My castle is rather impressive." They both laughed loudly at this. "If you have time later today maybe...."

"Nah, Kuwabara will be getting tired of Akio soon and I don't think Keiko's slept in days, no matter how much time we try to give her. Anyway, how's the wife?" Yusuke remembered the demoness that had grieved so much for his father. He hoped she had gotten over her drinking problem....

"She's doing well. Drinking less. But she was rather put-out when I told her not to participate in the tournament herself." He motioned with a giant hand to the center of the crowd where a head of curly blond hair was screaming and waving a 2 gallon bottle around wildly. "Drinking _less_."

"Right. She cut her hair."

"Yeah, it's just below her ears now. Oh! It looks like the fighters have returned."

Yusuke stood and stretched his neck, looking for his friends. He spotted the red-head first. "Kurama! Over here!" He blinked and looked around before spotting the raven-haired boy waving vigorously from 50 feet away. With a polite smile, he joined them and bowed respectfully to Enki. Hiei followed and bowed as well (though more reluctantly).

"How are you Enki-sama?"

"I'm just fine, Kurama. How's your mother?"

"She's very well, thank you." He sensed the fire apparition at his side stiffen. "Hiei?" Concern colored his voice and he took a more protective stance in front of King Enki.

"Nothing. I've just been on patrol too long. There's a psychic here." They all let out a short breath. "Strong, but nothing we can't handle." They caught his gaze as 2 females snuck inconspicuously through the crowd. They noticed Botan start at the sight of them and stare as they walked past.

* * *

"Ryu," Akari mumbled, knowing her friend could hear her perfectly fine. "She's staring at us again. Are you going to tell me why the Reikai has taken such an interest in us _this_ time?"

_How am I supposed to know? I was a demon in human world and you're a human in demon world.... Maybe that has something to do with it._

"That girl stared at me before you showed up at the park. Are you telling me that there's no way they could have discovered our little secret?"

_They don't keep tabs on humans and nobody's filed a report on me for 12 years. They don't even have a decent picture of me. Besides, Koenma hasn't responded to our presence at all._

"Well, he's 300-some years old, one would think he would've learned to lie somewhere along the way." She focused for a minute on getting to the portal before a thought came to her. "Wait a minute... how'd you know what picture they have of you?"

* * *

Hey! Sorry it's a bit short. I had to wrap it up here before I impeded on the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it my loyal readers!


	4. Chapter 4

Hey there guys. I just got done with a big paper for my college prep class and I was about to cry but I decided to write a few more chapters for this story instead. I have another one finished so I'm gonna shoot for 3 reviews before I post chapter 5!

* * *

**_Chapter 4: Home Invasion_**

Kurama signaled to Hiei to move one roof closer to the target. A rarity, the fire apparition did as he was told without objection. Kurama snuck closer as well, now close enough to see into the dark bathroom on the west side of the house. Hiei, hidden behind the chimney on the east side of the house, removed his headband and opened his Jagan. After a moment of intense concentration he appeared next to Kurama, beginning to speak almost before the redhead realized he was there.

"The house is empty. There are 3 bedrooms: the master bedroom on the ground floor, a male room on the second floor on the north side with dust on the nightstand, and a female bedroom on the south side with the window open."

Kurama grunted to show that he understood. The Yamamoto household was empty.... He hadn't expected the eldest son to be home, as he had already gone to a college 3 hours away and his parents had left for the restaurant where Yamamoto Takeshi would be informing one of his employees that he'd be receiving a big promotion, but Akari should still be here. They'd seen her enter the house after school, a large stack of books in her arms. Her energy hadn't moved from her bedroom the entire night. In fact, it was still there.

Moving silently down the roof, Kurama dropped 2 stories into the grass with impossible grace. He had gotten such a thrill earlier when he had been given the lead on their self-motivated mission. It reminded him of the life he'd just finished being punished for and he longed to go back.

But the adrenaline had dropped with Hiei's report. Not only was their target not home, but she had disappeared from right beneath their noses and had evidently seen them coming. This blow to his pride was insufferable. He'd been made.

Hiei was already looking down at him from the windowsill when Kurama made it to the back yard, the plush grass rising back up beneath his feet as his aura willed. He motioned for Hiei to be careful, still uncertain of the aura he was feeling from the bedroom. The fire demon was sure she wasn't there so why...? But his short companion disappeared into the house without a sound and without hesitation.

Kurama followed a few moments later, pupils constricting with the bright desk light still pointed to a biology book lying open to a page on the structure of cellular mitochondria. The bed, immediately to the left of the window in the corner, was perfectly made and the TV in the far corner was on and muted, a soccer game between Tokyo FC and Gamba Osaka flickering across the screen. A dresser beside that sported a bit of makeup, some jewelry, and several neat stacks of CDs. A typical teenage bedroom.

The jewelry caught Kurama's attention first and it took all of his energy to redirect his attention to Hiei, who was already shifting through the densely packed books in the cabinet beneath the TV. Without sparing the redhead a glance, he tossed something over his shoulder and began pulling out the dresser drawers.

Kurama caught the object and inspected it closely. It was a necklace with a thin silver chain and a roughly cut, quarter sized blue stone. It was the source of the energy they'd been sensing for most of the night. Once finished with his investigation of the dresser, Hiei approached Kurama, handing him a note. "Found this on the bed with the rock."

Unfolding it, the fox demon scanned the fluid, loopy handwriting.

_Youko and Hiei,_

_I don't know why you have chosen to follow Akari but I was not going to allow her to meet either of you in person to explain it. If you wish to tell us why you have chosen to invade the privacy of her home you may use the pre-paid phone in the cupboard beneath the TV. Akari will be available to speak tomorrow morning between 8:00 and 9:00. Whatever you choose to do, know that Akari will not be returning home and would appreciate it if you would close and lock the window behind you when you leave._

_-Ryu_

Hiei showed him the phone and slipped it back into his cloak. "Must've been that demon with her at the tournament. Whatever they did to Botan, they aren't saying."

Kurama nodded, recalling the look of alarm on the ferry girl's face just a few day's earlier at the tournament when the 2 girls had walked past. He wasn't sure exactly how much power Botan held in the Spirit World but Akari and this Ryu must have had something to gain by it. If it involved leaving Koenma vulnerable then they couldn't take any chances. Hiei had fully expressed his opinion that Koenma could die and he would be celebrating but both demons recognized the importance he held in the 3 worlds. If he disappeared... the effect would be catastrophic to Ningenkai and, as a result, Makai.

But they needed to know what danger he was in.

As if on cue, Kurama's old communicator went off. He hadn't used it in a long time but he'd been carrying it around with him since the tournament preliminaries. When he opened it, Botan was on the other end, looking extremely nervous about what she was going to tell him.

"Kurama! I need to talk to you." She hesitated. "... Where are you?"

"Nowhere of importance. What is it Botan?"

She fidgeted and bit her lower lip, refusing to make eye contact through the communicator. She took a deep breath and then was seemingly distracted by a loose thread on her kimono. Kurama waited patiently. When the amethist orbs finally turned back to the screen she straightened and forced a smile. "You know what, nevermind."

Kurama, seeing her reach forward to turn the communicator off, thought fast. "Botan!" She froze. "I'm at the Yamamoto residence. Akari isn't here because she sensed me coming. Why am I a threat to them?"

She 'epp!'ed and covered her mouth. "Kurama! What are you doing there?! I didn't know you knew her!"

"I don't." The fox demon sighed heavily. "Botan... we all saw your reaction when Akari and her friend appeared at the tournament. You wouldn't tell us what was going on but we aren't stupid. We know they're threatening you. What have they done?"

"No, no, no! You don't understand!"

"Botan you can tell me!"

"No! They haven't threatened me!" The communicator was very nearly thrown onto a desk top and Kurama saw Botan pacing in the background. Suddenly she flung herself back towards the screen, apparently about to say what she'd been avoiding. "Kurama! Akari's your soulmate!"

* * *

Kurama was sitting on his rooftop watching the sunrise when Hiei appeared next to him. "The police have left the house now."

"What time is it?"

"Shortly after 6."

He nodded. When Akari's parents had returned home, they had become frantic. Hiei had neglected to inform him that the house had been trashed and the back door kicked in to give it the appearance of a break in. When Ryu had said that Akari wasn't coming back, she had apparently been serious. Akari was NEVER coming back. She'd faked her own kidnapping.

Hiei took a seat next to Kurama on the roof. In 2 hours they would make the call and try their best to explain what the hell had just happened. The shorter of the 2 didn't seem near as nervous as his companion. Like the girls would believe them anyway. No need to get excited about something that wasn't going to happen.

Kurama looked at the phone in his hand. It was simple and white with only one contact. Speed dial number one. All he would have to do is wait 2 more hours and press 2 buttons and say... what? How was he supposed to tell a girl he didn't know that they were supposed to be together forever. That they were soulmates....

And then he knew why Hiei had never told Yukina that he was her brother. Kurama, a demon, would live several hundred more years, aging like a snail while her life was infuriatingly short. And that wasn't to mention what he'd done. He'd been watching her. She was everybody's friend and every teenage boy in the country of Japan was chasing her. She was smart and beautiful and innocent. And yet, fate said that she had to settle for him: a thief and a manipulator. She deserved better.

But he couldn't just leave it at that. He'd waited too long. He'd spent 300 years looking for a mate and now that he knew who she was he wasn't going to chicken out. He would become what she needed. He would manipulate himself this time and she would get the best. He would promise her that.

Hiei sensed a change in Kurama as he gripped the phone and looked straight at the sun. It had risen fully now and it seemed to bring with it a sort of confidence and determination that swept aside the uncertainty that had consumed him all night. Normally, the fire demon could care less what the fox was doing, but right now, he'd give a hell of a lot to know was he was thinking.

* * *

Akari was pacing again. She walked back and forth in the small mountain cavern, then through a narrow passage to a second, bigger cavern. She would peek in and find no sign of Ryu and return to pacing. Her phone read 6:36. _She should have been back by now!_

The ferry girl at the tournament had made them suspicious but after the events of last night they had been forced to check, yet again, what Spirit World knew about their plans. Ryu was excellent at infiltrating just about anywhere and had so been the one to go. Normally, she would return in about 4 hours, taking so long only because of her cautiousness, but by now it had been 8 hours and saying that Akari was worried was a vast understatement.

What if she'd been caught? If she hadn't been killed on the spot and her soul destroyed, Enma would surely forbid them to complete their mission and that couldn't happen. Ryu had barely believed her, Enma surely wouldn't. Not with Fate as his advisor. The damn spirit was always correct in his predictions but he never just told you anything. It was always a trick.

And with all of the research that Spirit World had done... to tell them that they were wrong... it was unthinkable. But unless Akari could convince Enki himself to help, Ryu was the only one strong enough for this and the only one willing.

Suddenly, there was a surge of energy from the portal room. Akari sprinted through the narrow passage, banging her knee but ignoring the minor pain. Sure enough, Ryu was there panting in front of the portal on one knee. The psychic was there in a second. "What happened?! Are you okay?"

_Fine._ She stood and waited for her breathing to ease. _Koenma is on a 2 week vacation to oversee the tournament. All of the files were moved around and I almost got caught by one of his fill-ins. I took a little longer to make sure nobody had noticed me. I tried to hurry back so you wouldn't think I had died but apparently you did anyway._

Akari scowled. "You shouldn't have risked it. If those demons call in an hour like you told them to they might tell us what Spirit World knows without risking getting your soul destroyed."

_Getting my soul destroyed?_

"Nevermind." The dark haired girl sighed and brushed her hair back behind her ear.

_You should be practicing._

"I practiced for 6 hours while you were gone! My concentration has been stretched to maximum capacity. And besides..." She looked at her phone. She had turned in on not too long ago, having kept it off to conserve the battery. Now that she knew Ryu was safe she was less nervous, but she was still too worried to sit down. She almost had to deal with the phone call on her own. Or if it hadn't come... that might've been worse. At any rate, Ryu's presence was reassuring.

_Let's go outside. You don't have service in here and the fresh air might do you some good._ Akari nodded, following Ryu through the cold, damp caves of the mountain just outside of the city. It took at least 20 minutes to navigate their way through a quarter of a mile of tight sqeezes and steep climbs and mazes of stalagmites. By the time they emerged onto a small grassy shelf on the side of the mountain facing the city, Akari was longing for the sun.

Together, the girls perched on the edge of the shelf beneath a tiny, struggling tree. "Get some sleep Ryu." The demon turned to her companion, heavy bags under her eyes. She could handle anything but she really loved her sleep. For a second she looked ready to argue but a small chuckle from Akari stopped her. She must look like shit. So, quietly, she shrunk back onto the grass, curled up into a ball, and fell asleep instantly.

Akari looked to her left, leaning back against the trunk of the tree to watch the sun cast gentle rays over the city and glint off of the enormous skyscrapers. All that was left to do now was wait.

* * *

_8:01. _Suddenly, the ancient black pre-paid phone in Akari's hands began to vibrate. The sound woke Ryu who sat up next to her. For a long moment, they both just looked at it. Taking a deep breath, Akari brushed her hair behind her ear and gave Ryu a look. _Here we go._ And she answered it.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi again! I didn't get the 3 reviews I was hoping for but I want to post this chapter cause I think its kinda cool. Let me know what you think and if I should proceed! Enjoy!

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_**Chapter 5: The Phone Call**_

_"Hello?"_

Kurama opened his mouth to answer and found his throat dry. "Y-Yamamoto-san?"

_"Yes. I take it this is Kurama-san?"_

"Yes." Unsure of how to proceed, Kurama put the phone on speaker and set it on the table. They were at Yusuke's now, seated at his kitchen table. Hiei sat across from him and Yusuke himself stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. Botan stood in the corner, trying not to draw attention to herself. The Fox demon took a deep breath and still, he could find no way to start. How the hell was he supposed to explain to a couple of girls that, even though he had attacked them, one of them was supposed to fall in love with him?

_"You know, **you** called **me** and these phones have a limited amount of minutes."_

"Yes, I know. ...Look, I just called to apologize. I'm afraid there has been a misunderstanding on our end."

_"... Okay...?"_ When Kurama didn't go on she heaved a sigh, making a loud 'whoosh'ing noise in the speakers._ "What did you perceive the situation to be?"_

Hiei glared at Botan, furious that she had not explained the situation better before. She backed up into the wall and held up her hands apologetically. Kurama attempted to explain. "When Hiei and I were at the tournament the other day we were made aware of a human psychic. We found this very strange. A friend of ours was standing across the way when you walked past and she appeared to be alarmed by your presence."

_"The ferry girl?"_ Akari interrupted.

"Yes. We approached her later that day and she became very nervous and denied having seen you at all. The only explanation that we could think of for her behavior was that you and Ryu-san were blackmailing her. But, again, she refused to answer our questions."

Hiei's glare deepened. Suddenly, he spoke, irritation clear in his voice. "Is Ryu there?"

_"Yes."_

"Can't she speak for herself?" Kurama fought to resist smacking Hiei. The fire demon wasn't helping their campaign for understanding when he spoke to them in such a gruff way. Akari hesitated at the other end, as if waiting for an answer.

_"Ryu-chan says that it's hardly any of your concern and that you guys seemed most interested in contacting me so there's no point in her taking part in this conversation."_ She didn't seem at all angry. Her tone was even and light, merely discussing facts with no emotional attachment.

Yusuke snorted quietly in the doorway. "That sounds like a girl for Hiei all right." Hiei turned his glare from Botan to Yusuke but the ex-detective wasn't the slightest bit affected and continued to grin widely.

_"Exactly how many people are listening to this conversation?"_

"Ryu apparently," Hiei growled, leaning his cheek on his fist in a manner that strongly resembled a pout.

"Only Hiei, our ferry girl friend, Urameshi Yusuke, and myself."

"Not that it's any of your concern." It was Kurama's turn to glare. Hiei grudgingly fell silent.

_"Only,"_ Akari scoffed. _"But we digress. Please, if you would, explain why the ferry girl was alarmed by us."_

Botan stepped forward and pointed to herself, indicating that she would like to be the one to explain. Kurama gestured to the phone, giving his permission. "Hi there Akari-chan. My name is Botan and I'm the ferry girl you guys were talking about. Not that you haven't guessed that already. But anyway, I just wanted to tell you what happened. See, I was bored one day in Koenma's office and I found this book in his desk. This book told me that you were Kurama's soul mate and Ryu was Hiei's soul mate but since I wasn't really supposed to know about that stuff I didn't want to tell them that. So when I didn't tell them, they thought that you had threatened me, even though you don't even know who I am. Of course, you know now but-."

_"Botan-chan!"_ The blunette jumped and stopped rambling. Her voice had been getting faster and faster with every word and by the end they were all having difficulty understanding what she was saying. _"Botan-chan, please calm down. Should your story hold to be true, all will be forgiven. However, the likelyhood of your explanation is slim. We will attempt to confirm what you have said and we will contact Kurama-san and Hiei-san later. Is there anything else we should know?"_

Kurama blinked. How exactly did they plan to confirm the story? But it would do no good arguing. So, reluctantly, he allowed the conversation to end. "No, I suppose not. Hiei and I will be awaiting your contact." There was a small 'click' as the line went dead.

"You tell them that you guys are soulmates and they want to confirm it and get back to you?" Yusuke gave each of them a strange look. "What kind of girls do you attract?" Suddenly, Akio began to scream. Yusuke groaned and disappeared down the hall, leaving the 2 demons to their thoughts.

* * *

Akari gave Ryu a look and Ryu glared back. "I told you not to go before the call."

_It was a bad idea to just blindly assume their ignorance and it still is. Koenma's desk? _Akari nodded and Ryu stood reluctantly, stretching. Before entering the mountain again she gave the psychic a long look. _Akari,_ she jumped, _keep in mind that whatever I find is irrelevant. We aren't exactly in a position to have soulmates right now. You know that better than anyone._

Akari flinched and didn't say anything. Without another word, Ryu disappeared into the tunnel.

She made good time back through the winding passages, taking short cuts that only she could remember and avoiding the mazes of stalagmites with practiced ease. She'd lived in these tunnels and trained here for years. She had grown tired of them quickly but they were the secret to her life. She flew through the room Akari had been pacing in and the passage beyond. Rounding a corner, she caught sight of the portal to the Makai first, a writhing mass of bright red; then Reikai, a swirling electric blue.

This was Ryu's life, jumping from one place to the next on a whim, slipping in anywhere that caught her curiosity and leaving the same way she came, without notice. Every now and then she did favors for a select few demons, namely one of Enki's advisors that liked to know what people were up to, and was paid handsomely for it. However, she was unemployed in every sense of the word and had no income.

She took a moment to gaze into the Makai portal, then shook her head. _No. There's no point._

Taking a deep breath, she launched herself into the Reikai. The portal trip was short and when her feet finally touched solid ground she found that she desperately missed it. Something about being between the worlds, in total darkness, with no one's energy pressing in on her own. She felt free there. But there was no time to be free right now. In 1 week, the shit would hit the fan and she had to be ready, including being prepared for whatever those idiots in Spirit World were planning.

The portal put her down in the middle of a forest about a mile from Enma's castle. Without a sound she moved west rather than north towards the castle, circling around a stand of rocks. She didn't want to be seen near the portal. If it was found her entire operation would be shut down and she would be trapped in the Reikai. She went more than 2 miles before changing direction.

Ryu followed a half-moon path until she was about 400 yards from the castle wall. Like clock-work, a breach opened in the wall security every 15 minutes. It only lasted a few seconds but that was all she needed. She had become very fast.

Inside the courtyard, she touched down and ducked into some low brush near the wall as one of Enma's soldiers appeared from a side entrance. He glanced around, clearly bored out of his wits, and then disappeared inside once more. She watched him pass a window down the hall and extended her energy. Nobody else was there. Silently, she pushed off the wall and appeared in front of the side entrance, slipping in and jumping to the rafters.

Another energy was coming. Taking note of the dust on the other rafters, she stayed put. If she disturbed the dust and it fell, the approaching ferry girl may notice.

The dark-haired woman passed slowly, her kimono shuffling slightly. Once she walked by Ryu's hiding place, the demon took off. She didn't want to spend too much time in the castle.

It took time to navigate the halls to Koenma's office and by the time she reached the filing room she was getting frustrated. People were up and about today, discussing the Makai Tournament in hushed voices.

She suppressed her energy before entering the room. The ogres that were rushing about didn't pay any attention to her, too caught up in their work. As long as they didn't notice that she was a demon they would forget her in an instant. She wove through them slowly, moving forward and backward and twisting out of their way in her attempt to cross the room.

Most people didn't like them. They were weak and smelled and couldn't hold an interesting conversation to save their lives, but Ryu liked them. They were funny, organized somehow amidst this chaos. She enjoyed watching them work and if Enma's guards didn't make her so damn nervous she would stick around to do so.

It took a full 15 minutes to navigate the mess of the filing room and she veered left immediately after, toward a side hall. When she found an empty room she ducked into it, noting security cameras and the tiny air vent in the corner. The guard in the security room wouldn't catch a thing on the monitors. Upon reaching the vent, Ryu produced a screwdriver, though it turned out to be unnecessary. The vent was already open.

_Shit! What the hell is going on? _

When she extended her energy into the vent, she found a small demon within, just outside Koenma's office. Swearing colorfully in her head, Ryu pulled herself up to the vent. It was small, barely enough to fit her head and shoulders through, but she had become accustomed to it over time, considering how often she was here. Spirit World had tough security but the things behind that security were worth all of the risk.

It took several minutes to travel the length of the vent and several more minutes to do it quietly when the demon would be within earshot. When it was just around the corner, Ryu pulled out a small knife and with one heave she pulled herself into view and flung the knife. It wasn't exactly the place she wanted to fight but the imp-like creature didn't see it coming and went down without a sound. She tried to hurry down to it to push it further down the vent before the blood began to leak out but she got stuck for a minute along the turn. She swore again. She always got stuck here!

But she made it in time. Koenma was in his office, just starting to doze off. Ryu sensed 3 more demons in waiting, one outside the window, one in a second vent across the way, and the 3rd was a type of demon she'd never seen before that seemed to be completely made up of shadow, hiding behind the camera that was focused on Koenma's desk. It was a hit. And a pretty damn noisy-looking one too. What idiot planned this? If they were lucky, that shadow demon would get out alive. And now she had to kill them, get the book, and get out before anyone noticed. She was screwed.

But she had to think fast, Koenma was gonna fall asleep any minute now and that was when they'd strike. She did her best to hurry around the vents and took out the second demon the same way she'd taken out the first. The more she studied it, the more confused she became. This one was the same as the other and she had never seen anything quite like either of them before. They were small, with cat-like hind legs, leathery red-brown skin, a head too big for its body, and bat-like ears that hung down to its shoulders.

She began to wonder what kind of demon was hanging from Koenma-sama's window sill. It was rather big and she couldn't imagine how it had escaped the attention of all of Enma's guards on the wall.

Ryu monitored the shadow demon's energy carefully. When it was sure that the prince had fallen asleep it seemed to drape a part of itself over the camera, the rest of its body dropping to the floor silently. Even she couldn't achieve that stealth. The second demon slipped quickly in through the window, its slick skin the same yellowish color as the stone walls of the castle. Ryu pushed open the loosened vent and pulled herself through.

When the demons realized that she wasn't one of their companions they attacked. The demon from the wall dropped to the floor and its skin changed to blend in to the plush red carpet of the office. When she blinked, it flew forward. She easily knocked aside the impractically long claws and she grabbed it by the forehead, sending shoots of energy in through its eye sockets to shread its brain.

Quick, clean, and silent.

The shadow demon backed away. She let it. She didn't want to kill it yet because it was still covering the camera. She approached Koenma's desk and began checking the drawers. It just so happened that behind the top drawer on the left, the first one she checked, there was a small book. Just as she was reaching for it, the shadow demon charged.

Swearing, she killed it with a blast of energy that went straight through it. Koenma didn't stir but the darkness in front of the camera and the shadow demon itself seemed to evaporate and the other demon was still laying exposed on the floor. She ducked behind the desk, snatched the book, and sprinted through the window, knowing that the horrible resolution of the camera wouldn't show her unless someone slowed down the tape to look. She dropped a good 4 stories and landed hard on the ground below, in a garden.

The only cover around was an oversized rose bush. The thorns cut into her skin, despite her best attempts to avoid them, but at least she was out of sight. An alarm began to blare from somewhere above her and every guard on the wall turned to face the castle. Several of the guards ran to cover the entrances and exits of the castle, even some she didn't know existed.

Seeing her chance, Ryu made a run for it.


End file.
